Seam pressing and reinforcing machine



Nov. 7, 1939. A EPPLER, JR

SEAM PRESSING AND REINFORCING MACHINE Filed June 3, 1937 6 Sheets-Sheetl Figtl.

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Etu @ZREER kPE N 38 Patented Nov. 7, 1939 UNITED STATES SEAM PRESSINGAND REINFORCING MACHINE Andrew Eppler, Jr., Lynn, Mass assignor toUnited Shoe Machinery Corporation, Borough of Flemington, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey Application June 3, 1937, Serial No. 146,300

14 Claims.

This invention relates to machines for pressing and reinforcing seams inshoe parts and is herein illustrated as embodied in an improved machinefor performing the operations known in shoemaking as back seam pressingand taping.

In United States Letters Patent No. 2,094,905, granted October 5, 1937,upon an application filed in the name of Thomas C. Rowen, there isdisclosed a machine for performing the operations of pressing and tapingthe back seam of a shoe quarter, and the present invention may, incertain respects, be regarded as a development of and improvement uponthat of the said Rowen patent.

It is an object of the present invention to make the operation of seampressing and taping machines automatic to a greater degree thanheretofore with a view to increasing the speed and accuracy ofoperation, as well as improving the quality of the product and to thisend I have provided mechanism for holding and moving the work in such amanner that the required amount of manipulation by the operator isgreatly reduced. A feature of the illustrated machine consists in theprovision of grippers which seize the work piece and draw it smooth andtaut about the lower of a pair of pressing forms, hold it there whilethe seam is pressed, then lift the work from the lower form, to permit atape to be introduced beneath the seam, and again lower it to pressingposition to permit the tape to be pressed into adhesive contact with thework piece. The work is thus kept under perfect control during the seampressing and tape applying operations, enabling those operations to beperformed accurately and perfectly.

Another feature of the invention is to be found in an oscillating seampressing tool which operates to press and flatten the seam ridge moreeffectively and easily than tools heretofore used. In the illustratedmachine the mechanism for oscillating the tool is so timed relatively tothe other operating mechanisms that the said tool remains stationaryduring the tape applying operation, since it is desirable to applydirect pressure, without any rubbing action, to the adhesively coatedtape.

Invention is also to be recognized in the provision of mechanism forautomatically presenting the tape in proper relation to the seam and forcutting it off after it is applied, so that no further cutting ortrimming by hand is necessary.

Other improvements relating to the maintenance of parallelism of thepresser head to the work supporting form, supplying heat totheoscillating seam pressing tool, and various "other advantageousfeatures will be set forth in the fol-: lowing detailed description of amachine embodying the invention, to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which, I Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partly insection, of a machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the machine in front elevation; I

Fig. 3 is a plan view;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section'showing the va' rious driving mechanisms;l Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are detail views of the individual cams which operateor control the'various' mechanisms;

Fig. 8 is an angular View showing a work piece in seam pressingposition; T r

Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing the work piece lifted fromthe lower form and a tape introduced beneath the seam; Fig. 10 is a viewof a detail of the tape feeding member; and a Fig. 11 is a cam chartshowing the timing of the movements of the various instrumentalitieswhich operate upon the work. V T 1 The seam pressing and taping machineshown in the drawings is broadly similar to that "shown in the Rowenpatent referred to above. A lower pressing and work supporting form,comprising a stationary section 20, is mounted upon the forwardlyprojecting portion 22 of the housing" 24 which is adapted to rest upon abench and which encloses most of the operating mechanisms 0 r themachine.

A second section 26 of the lower pressing form is pivotally mounted at28 for swinging 'movement toward and from the section 20 and when thetwo sections are in juxtaposition the formis of a shape suitable to fitthe inside of the back portion of a shoe quarter with the ridge of theback seam of the quarter occupying a narrow space between thetwo-sections of the form.

Pivotally mounted at 30 above the lower pressing form is a lever 32 tothe forward end of which is pivoted at 34 a vertically movable presserhead 36 the shape of which is complemental to that of the lower pressingform to press and moldthef portion of a shoe quarter adjacent to theback seam.

Operating in the narrow space between the sections 28 and 26 of thelower form is a seam thereafter elevated and'oscillated to press and rubthe back seam against the presser head 36. After the seam pressing and.rubbing operation the oscillation of the tool 38 is stopped and the workpiece, which is held in grippers 40, 42, is raised to the positionillustrated in Fig. 9 and ,adhesive reenforcing tape 44, drawn from asup-- ply roll 46, is introduced beneath the back seam 48 of the quarter50 by mechanism which will be described hereinafter.

The grippers 40, 42 are next caused to descend, carrying the quarterdown upon the forms 20, 26, and the presser head 36 is lowered to pressthe quarter into adhesive contact with the tape. While the work is thusheld under pressure a shear blade 52 is operated to cut off the tapeflush with the edge of the quarter, after which the work is released andthe operating instrumentalities are restored to positions where they areready to begin operations upon the next work piece. The mechanisms foractuating the individual operating instrumentalities in their propersequence will now be described.

Running through the machine from side to side and journaled in bearings54, 56 in the housing 24 is a cam shaft 58 upon which are mounted aseries of nine cams which cams, or the cam levers which they operate,are numbered from I to 9, inclusive, in the drawings. Cam No. 1 isformed in the side face of a gear 60 which is pinned to the cam shaftand meshes with a pinion 62 upon a countershaft 64 to which is pinned agear 66 meshing with a pinion 68 fixed upon the main drive shaft I0 ofthe machine. The drive shaft I0 carries a loose pulley I2 driven by abelt 14 from any suitable source of power and the drive shaft and pulleyare adapted to be connected by a treadle controlled one revolutionclutch which will be referred to later. will be seen that rotation ofthe drive shaft ID will be transmitted to the cam shaft 58 through thegearing 60, 62, 66, 68. As previously stated, the section 20 of thelower work supporting form is stationary and the section 26 of the formis: adapted to be moved toward and from the section 20 about the pivot28. This movement of the section 26 is effected by cam No. 2 whose camlever is fulcrumed upon a rod I6 and has a forward extension I8 and adownward extension 80. Projecting laterally from the lever extension I8is an ear 82 engaged by the point of a screw 84 which is threadedthrough an arm 86 pivoted upon the rod I6. A stud 88 fixed in the arms86 engages in an arcuate slot 90 in the forward end of the leverextension 18 to limit the amount of lost motion between said arm andlever extension.

The forward end of the arm 86 is pivotally connected at 92 to an uprightlink 94 the upper end of which is connected at 96 to the center of atoggle 98, I00. The outer end of the toggle link 98 is movable about astationary pivot I02 and the outer end of the toggle link I00 ispivota-lly connected at I04 to the lower end of a downward extension I06of the form section 26. During the rotation of cam No. 2 its cam leverwill be swung in a direction to raise the forward lever extension I8and, through the arm 86 and the link 94, to straighten the toggle 98,I00, and, consequently, move the form section 26 toward the stationarysection 20 until only a narrow space, sufficient to receive and holdstraight the back seam of a shoe quarter remains between the two formsections.

The grippers 40, 42 are arranged to receive and draw down the sideportions of the quarter prior to the completion of the closing movementof the form section 26 toward the section 20. The gripper jaws arepivoted, respectively, to the forward ends of arms I08, III], which arefixed to the upper ends of upright rods II2, II4 mounted for both up anddown sliding movement and oscilllatory movement about their own axes,the said rods being interconnected for equal and opposite oscillatorymovement by interengaging arms H6 and H8 of bell-crank levers of whichthe remaining arms I20 and I22, respectively, extend forward and aredrawn toward each other by apull spring I24 (see Fig. 8). Compressionsprings I26 (Fig. 3) tend to swing the rear ends of the gripper jaws 40,42 toward each other, holding them lightly against inner gripper jawsI28, I30 which are loose upon the rods II2,

I I4 and the work engaging portions which lie in recesses I32 in theside faces of the work supporting form. The tension of the springs I26is so light that the work piece may be easily pushed backward betweenthe gripper jaws when the parts are in the positions illustrated in Fig.3.

Pivoted at I34 to the outer side of the bellcrank lever H8, I22, is alink I36 which is connected at I38 with a lost motion connection to thelower end of the downward extension 80 of the cam lever 2 so that whenthe said cam lever is operated to move the work supporting form section26 toward the form section 20, the rods I I2, I M will be permitted,under the influence of the spring I24, to turn in the proper directionsto close the gripper jaws upon the work, simultaneously with thestraightening and positioning of the back seam ridge of the quarter inthe space between the form sections.

As soon as the gripper jaws seize the work piece they are moved downwardby cam No. to draw the work piece smoothly over the form. To this endthe cam lever is pivoted on a shaft I40 and has a forward extension I42which is connected at I44 to a cross head I46 slidable upon the lowerends of the rods H2, H4 and connected to the rods through pull springsI48, the upper ends of which are anchored to collars I50 fixed upon therods. The purpose of the springs is to afford a yielding downward pullupon the sides of the quarter 50 through the grippers carried by therods H2, H4.

By the time the grippers have drawn the quarter smoothly over the formthe presser head 36 will have descended sufiiciently to exert pressureupon the work piece. This presser head is actuated by cam No. I, the camlever of which is loosely pivoted upon the countershaft 64 and has anupper extension I52 connected by a link I54, adjustable in length bymeans of a turnbuckle I56, to the lever 32 which carries the presserhead. The presser head cam is an open cam and its cam roll is held inengagement with it by a strong spring I58, the rear end of which isattached to a stationary part of the machine frame and the forward endof which is anchored at I60 to the rear end of the lever 32. The rearend of the presser head 36 is connected by a link I62 to a rocker memberI64 upon the pivot 30 and the said rocker member is in turn connected bya link I66 to the link I54 at I68. These parts are so proportioned thata parallel motion is imparted to the presser head as 'it moves downward,in order that it shall engage the work evenly and simultaneouslythroughout its full length.

In order to press and flatten the back seam after the work has beenplaced under pressure between the presser head and the work supportingform, the seam pressing and ironing tool 38 is raised and oscillated.The raising of the tool is effected by cam No. 4 whose cam lever ismovable at its lower end about a stationary fulcrum I10. The upper endof the lever is connected at I12 to an adjustable link I14 which is inturn connected at I16 to the center of a toggle I18, I80. The outer endof the link I18 is movable about a stationary pivot I82 in the baseportion of the machine and the outer end of the link I is pivotallyconnected at I84 to the lower end of a slide I68 which is movable up anddown in a stationary guide I88.

The seam pressing tool 38 is pivoted to the upper end of the slide I86at I90 and the tool has a downwardly extending leg I92 which isconnected by an eccentric rod I94 to an eccentric I96 upon the driveshaft I0. The eccentric I96 rotates freely upon a bushing I98 which ispinned to the drive shaft (see Fig. 4) and one end of the eccentricmember is extended and toothed at 200, constituting one element of apositive clutch by which the eccentric is driven from the shaft I0. Theother element 202 of the clutch is splined to the shaft and is movableaxially thereof to engage and disengage the clutch. The engagement anddisengagement of this clutch is controlled by cam No. 3 operating upon aslide 204 which shifts the clutch member 202 ain'ally of the drivingshaft into or out of engagement with the clutch member 200.

It will be apparent that rotation of cam No. 4

will straighten the toggle I18, I80 and cause the seam pressing tool 38to be raised, while engagement of the clutch 200, 202 will causerotation of the eccentric I96 and oscillatory movement about the pivotI90 will be imparted to the tool.

In order to produce the best results it is desirable that the seampressing tool 38 be heated. To this end there is provided an electricalheating unit 206 embedded in the lower portion of a stationary member208 having a fiat side face against which the movable seam pressing tool38 rubs. Heat is thus transmitted continually to the tool regardless ofits position and movement.

The mechanism for feeding the tape 44 into applying position is actuatedby a spring 2I0 under the control of cam No. 6. The cam lever isfulcrumed upon the countershaft 64 and its upper arm 2I2 engages thefront face of a lever 2I4 also fulcrumed upon said countershaft andunder the influence of the spring 2I0 which tends to move it forward.The upper end of the lever 2 I4 is connected by a link 2 IE to a tapefeed rod 2I8 which slides loosely through a bearing 220 supported by abracket 222 which carries the tape supply roll 46. The forward end ofthe rod 2I8 is provided with an upwardly pointed spur 224 which isarranged to enter the tape near its end and draw a portion of it forwardinto applying position. The length of tape fed forward is determined byadjustment of a nut 226 threaded upon a rod 228 which is pivoted at 230to the lever H4.

The tape passes through a guide 232 in which it is held down by a leafspring 234 and from which it emerges through a fiat tubular opening 236.Inasmuch as the tape is impaled near its end upon the spur 224 and drawnout under tension very accurate control of the length of tape producedis had as compared with those machines in which tape is pushed orprojected into applying position.

The feed rod 2 I8 is raised to cause the spur 224 to enter the tape by alifter 238 movable about a stationary pivot 240 and having its rear endconnected by a link 242 to the arm 244 of the cam lever of cam No. 8,which cam lever is fulcrumed upon the countershaft 64. Cam. No. 8 istimed to raise the rod 2 I 8 and the spur 224 into engagement with thetape just before the tape feed begins and to lower the rod and spur atthe end of the tape feed and before the feed rod is retracted.

For the purpose of cutting off the tape flush with the edge of thequarter at the proper time there is provided the shear blade 52previously mentioned. This shear is movable about a sta tionary pivot246 and has an outwardly extending arm 248 connected by a link 250 to anextension 252 of the cam lever which is actuated by cam No. I, said camlever being fulcrumed upon the shaft I40.

Connection of the belt pulley 52 to the drive shaft I0 is controlled bya conventional onerevolution clutch mechanism comprising a Horton clutch254, a clutch stop arm 256 adapted to be actuated by a treadle rod 258to permit the clutch to engage, and a cam 9 for disengaging the clutchat the end of a single revolution of the shaft.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa support for the shoe part, a seam pressing tool of sufiicient lengthto engage the entire length of the seam simultaneously, means forholding the shoe part stationary upon the support, means for moving thepressing tool into engagement with the seam, and means for oscillatingthe pressing tool while it is in engagement with the entire length ofthe seam and while the shoe part is stationary.

2. In a machine for operating upon a seamed shoe part, the combinationof a support for the shoe part, a seam pressing tool arranged to engageand press the seam of a shoe part upon the support, means foroscillating said tool while it is in engagement with the seam, astationary heating unit, and means for transferring heat from said unitto said tool while the tool is oscillating.

3. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa stationary support for the shoe part, a vertically movable presserhead above said support, means for lowering the head into engagementwith a shoe part upon said support, a vertically movable, horizontallyoscillatory seam pressing tool beneath the work supporting surface ofsaid support, means for raising the tool into engagement With the underside of a seam in the shoe part upon the support, and means foroscillating the tool while-it is in engagement with the seam.

4. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa work support comprising relatively movable spaced apart sections uponwhich the shoe part may rest and between which the seam ridge may bepositioned, means for effecting relative approach of the sections withthe seam ridge between them, a seam pressing tool movable verticallybetween said sections, means for moving said tool upward into engagementwith the seam, and means for oscillating said tool while it is inengagement with the seam.

5. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa work supporting form the surface of which is shaped in accordance withthe curvature of the inner surface of the portion of a shoe partadjacent to the back seam, a cooperating presser form which issubstantially complementary to the part of the work supporting formwhich it covers, movable grippers at each side of the work supportingform arranged to seize a shoe part positioned on said form, means formoving the grippers to draw the shoe part smooth upon the form, andmeans for effecting relative approaching movement of the forms to pressthe smoothed shoe part therebetween.

6. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa work supporting form, movable means for sustaining a shoe part withits seamed portion spaced from the form, means for feeding a strip ofreenforcing tape between the seam and the form, and means for pressingthe work against the form to apply the tape to the seam.

7. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa work supporting form, movable grippers at each side of said formarranged to seize and hold a shoe part pisitioned over the form, meansfor raising and lowering the grippers, with the shoe part seizedthereby, relatively to the form, means for feeding a strip ofreenforcing tape over the form beneath the shoe part when the latter israised, and means for pressing the work against the form to apply thetape to the work when the latter is lowered.

8. In a machine for operating on a seamed shoe part, the combination ofa work supporting form, movable means for sustaining a shoe part withits seamed portion spaced from the form, means for feeding a strip ofreenforcing tape between the seam and the form, means for pressing thework against the form to apply the tape to the seam, and means forcutting off the tape flush with the edge of the work while the latter isunder pressure.

9. In a machine for operating on the rear portion of a shoe quarter, thecombination of a Work supporting form the surface of which is shaped inaccordance with the curvature of said quarter adjacent to the back seam,a cooperating presser form which is substantially complemental to thepart of the work supporting form which it covers, a lever upon which thepresser form is pivotally mounted, means for swinging the lever to movethe presser form toward or from the Work supporting form, and linkageconnections between the presser form and said lever constructed andarranged to maintain the presser form parallel to the supporting formregardless of the position to which the lever is swung.

10. In a machine for pressing and taping the back seam of a shoequarter, the combination of a work supporting form the surface of whichis shaped to conform to the curvature of the inner surface of thequarter adjacent to the back seam, a complemental presser form movabletoward and from said supporting form, a seam pressing tool operable topress the back seam of the quarter while the latter is held between saidforms, and means for presenting and applying a tape tothe seam after thelatter has been pressed.

11. In a machine for pressing and taping the back seam of a shoequarter, the combination of a Work supporting form the surface of whichis shaped to conform to the curvature of the inner surface of thequarter adjacent to the back seam, a complemental presser form movabletoward and from said supporting form, a seam pressing tool operable topress the back seam of the quarter while the latter is held between saidforms, means for presenting and applying a tape to the seam after thelatter has been pressed, and means for cutting off the tape flush withthe edge of the quarter after the tape has been applied.

12. In a machine for applying adhesive tape to a shoe part, thecombination of a tubular tape guide, reciprocating means for feedingtape through said guide, a shear, means for operating the shear insynchronism with the feeding means to cut off the tape fed through saidguide, and pressing members adapted to press the tape upon the shoepart, said pressing members being of sufiicient length to operatesimultaneously upon the entire length of tape fed through the guide atone reciprocation of the feeding means.

13. In a machine for applying adhesive tape to a shoe part, thecombination of a tape guide, reciprocating means for feeding apredetermined length of tape through the guide, pressing members adaptedto press the tape upon the shoe part, a shear, and means for operatingthe shear to cut off the tape while it is held pressed upon the shoepart by said pressing members.

14. In a machine for applying adhesive tape to a shoe part, thecombination of a support for the shoe part, tape feeding meansconstructed and arranged to engage the tape near its end, mechanism formoving the tape feeding means a measured distance to draw apredetermined length of tape over the support and then disengaging saidfeeding means from the tape, and pressing means movable toward thesupport to press the tape and the shoe part together.

ANDREW EPPLER, JR.

